A mother waits anxiously fretting because her child has not arrived home from school

A small business owner is fending off a thief who is demanding his daily takings

A firefighter is risking his or her life

Children are cowering in terror as more gunfire ricochets around their suburb in a country uncertain for its future

Another elephant has been killed for its ivory tusks

Someone is praying … praying for help

As I write this, with all the SOMEWHERE’S IN THE WORLD crashing around in my head I keep thinking of the ongoing second by second of more SOMEWHERE’S IN THE WORLD and I give thanks that I am safe and well in my SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD.

November 22, 2012

I started writing this piece a few days ago and this morning there has been a resolve so I will preface my story with a Post Script. Regardless, I am still publishing this because I believe what I have written is still relevant.

Post Script: Now we have a truce – hopefully an enduring peace. However, not for one minute do I believe Hillary Clinton was responsible solely for the outcome but the look on her face when Netanyahu followed his “hopes for a resolve” at the initial press conference, by saying that in the end they would resort to force if it didn’t work out (words to that effect) and that everyone would understand that stance, including the US, definitely was not going to be acceptable and the body language and look on Hillary Clinton’s face said it all. His statement was arrogant and the US was never going to accept Netanyahu’s position, that much was quite clear. Thank God it seems that there has been some clear headed thinking on the part of Egypt together with Ban Ki Moon from the UN. Will it last? Who knows. Do we hope it lasts? Hell yes!

Now to my thoughts. It matters not whether you call the conflict Israel versus Palestine; Israelis versus Palestinians; Israel, Palestine and Gaza; Israel, Palestine and the Gaza Strip. What matters is the stupidity behind the conflict.

The stupidity of everyone concerned beggars belief. The stupidity of Israelis in wanting to keep moving the fence boundaries in order to land grab. That is an undeniable fact which is well documented. The stupidity of Israelis in preventing Palestinians from being able to cross over that fence to get work. The stupidity of the Jewish community in thinking that the world wants to constantly hear about the atrocities of World War II. The stupidity of Palestinians who think that the way to the heart of the world is to condone and engage in terrorism to make its point. The stupidity of both the Palestinians and Israelis by resorting to the bombing by both sides and the resultant murders of innocent citizens, both adults and children. The stupidity of a young Palestinian mother berating her young husband for crying over the death of their 12 month old baby girl – “Don’t cry, don’t cry” she said “She was a martyr” she said. A martyr? A baby! That made me angry. The stupidity of Israel in thinking that it has an undeniable right to access land that it was not given and in the process showing the world just how ungrateful and greedy they are. The stupidity of Israel in thumbing their noses at the UN over the years. The stupidity of nations such as the US and Australia who make it clear to the world that they are taking sides by being pro Israel. The stupidity of Palestinians in allowing the world to continue in the belief that Hamas is above all, a terrorist organisation. I am not convinced that is still the case. It is understandable however, given its past actions and certainly, as I understand it, the US and Israel still consider it to be thus. I now think the world needs to take another look at Hamas and they in turn, need to offer the world a better view and understanding of their organisation because while ever the US and Israel refer to them as terrorists, the world at large will continue to dismiss Palestinians and their grievances. The word ‘terrorist’ strikes fear in the hearts of all global citizens, that too is completely understandable.

(I would recommend The Council on Foreign Relations http://www.cfr.org/ website which gives a clear and concise understanding of Hamas and gives answers to relevant questions.)

Think of this conflict in simplified terms. How would any of us feel if our next door neighbour decided he wanted a bigger backyard so he pulled down the fence dividing your property and his and then moved the fence line so that his yard became bigger than yours. We would be incensed. Or Arizona in the US decided it wanted New Mexico as well. Or Queensland in Australia decided it wanted New South Wales. Why is this situation any different? It isn’t. That’s the basics of this whole sorry mess.

What perhaps is the most galling for me is the arrogance. Mostly the arrogance of Israel, and of Benjamin Netanyahu and Shimon Peres. Gentlemen, you are guilty of all of the following:

Arrogance – overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors. And along with that goes:

pride– unreasonable and inordinate self-esteem (personified as one of the deadly sins)

superiority – displaying a sense of being better than others; “he hated the white man’s superiority and condescension”

snobbery, snobbishness, snobbism– the trait of condescending to those of lower social status. You are no better than anyone else in this world. You are no better than the Palestinians and you are no better than me, an ordinary Australian. An ordinary Australian who has watched over the years this incessant and unceasing stupidity.

We see this every day in our politicians all around the world but never more so than at this moment and the trouble is that most of this arrogance is coming from Israel. Arrogance and pride. Two of the most damaging traits in a person and the most damaging if you are trying to foster support from any corner. It will bring you down in the end.

That is not the way to assist people to broker conciliation and peaceful resolution. There may not be equal balance on both sides, in fact, there doesn’t appear to be balance in any of their arguments at all.

When we watch the reports that come to us via journalists from all over the world, we know that many of those journalists are damned if they tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth and that they too, are only told, in this case, what the parties want them to report. So, we arm ourselves, as the intelligent, caring beings that we are, with the knowledge that we are standing on the outside looking in and there is still a modicum of truth to be found in the news, if we put our intelligence to good use and in that way, we can be a little more objective by reading between the lines in order to get at the real story.

And I ask you now, Why Can’t I Fix This? I can’t fix this because I am one voice in the wilderness. But together, the world and its citizens can fix it. How? By letting the Palestinian and Israeli leaders know that we, the global citizens, do not agree with this situation.

Recently, I have seen and heard many experts say this is a very complicated and difficult situation. No it’s not. It’s simple if you go back to the truth and where this all started. It has only been made complicated and difficult because leaders bank on the fact that when a situation and the reporting of it becomes overwhelming, that people themselves become overwhelmed with the information and the lines between what is truth and fiction become blurred. Don’t let this happen.

To both Israelis and Palestinians, do not be so arrogant as to tell me to mind my own business. It became my business when you both started killing innocent people. You can no longer hide behind the fact that news takes a long time to reach the rest of the world. It is almost instantaneous and now we have the added benefit of social media. A very powerful force, which whether you like it or not, is now the police for world affairs. This now affects the turnaround in how the world survives. Be very careful how you proceed. The world is watching.

To anyone who reads this, I have tried not to commit the sin for which I address here – governments taking sides in conflicts. I have beautiful friends on both sides of this argument, Palestinian and Jewish. What I write, I sincerely write from the heart. I do not shy away from the fact that I have a love for the Palestinian people and I do not shy away from the fact that I have always considered Yasser Arafat to be a personal hero – as was my Dad, an ordinary Aussie bloke. At the end of the day, and as I have already said, I can’t fix this.